


My Brother

by pickleplum



Series: Owl and Dragon [12]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Triggers, Wingfic, companion to Athene Noctua, winged!Hermann
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-13 14:07:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1229275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickleplum/pseuds/pickleplum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At a low point in Hermann's life his brothers and sister do what they can to keep him safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bastien

**Author's Note:**

> Reading "Scars" will help this make sense.

Bastien skips down the stairs and into the kitchen on Sunday morning, looking forward to breakfast with his brothers and sister. With the others at university now a meal together is a rare treat for the youngest Gottlieb.

Dietrich and Karla sit at the table, each clutching a steaming mug of coffee. They look terribly sad and tired and don’t seem to notice Bastien bounce into the room. Hermann’s not there.

“What’s wrong?” Bastien pipes in his tiny, squeaky, ten-year-old voice.

Dietrich and Karla exchange a look. “Manny’s sick,” Dietrich offers.

“I can’t catch it, can I?”

“No, Bastien, he’s not contagious,” Karla answers kindly.

“Is he coming to breakfast? Will we still be able to go stargazing tonight? I miss him and really want to go. He knows everything about stars,” he babbles excitedly.

“Bastien, please sit down for a moment,” Dietrich says. The little boy looks at his oldest brother with obvious suspicion, but takes his place next to Karla. Dietrich sighs and begins in a quiet, level voice, “Manny needs to rest today. He hurt himself very badly last night.”

Bastien’s eyes widen with worry. “Did he fall again?”

“No, _Hasi_ ,” Dietrich says as he places a hand on top of one of Bastien’s. “He tried to kill himself.”

Bastien blinks in confusion for a moment before squealing, “ _Why_? He was so _happy_  yesterday afternoon! Is he gonna be alright?”

“He’ll get better. We need to watch him until he does, though,” Dietrich informs him and the little boy relaxes somewhat.

“He did it because Father’s making him move home again,” Karla growls through her teeth, “Because he made a special friend.”

“Manny has a boyfriend?! _Awesome_! I _guess_  a girlfriend would be okay, too.” Bastien pulls a confused face. “But why would Father make Manny come home because he has a boyfriend? Or girlfriend.”

“Father’s afraid Manny will show his boyfriend his wings and get in trouble,” Karla answers.

“Why would he get in trouble for that? He has wings. It’s just who he is.” Bastien looks even more confused as he shifts his gaze from sibling to sibling.

Karla sighs. “You know how some people pick on Manny because of his leg, _Hasi_?” The little boy nods. “Well, Father’s afraid people will be even meaner to Manny if they knew about his wings. It’s why he always ties them down when he goes out.”

“Those people are just stupid,” Bastien declares. He puffs out his chest. “I’ll take care of him until he gets better and can go back to England,” he says. His siblings laugh.

“You do that, _Hasi_ ,” Dietrich says. “Why don’t you start by checking if he’s awake and, if he is, asking if he needs anything.” Bastien nods, all seriousness, and trots off toward Hermann’s room at the back of the house.

When Bastien fails to reappear, Karla goes in search of him. She finds the little boy asleep in bed with his injured brother, arm wrapped protectively around the older boy’s wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘ _Hasi_ ’ is a term of endearment meaning ‘bunny’.
> 
> Music to set the mood: The Rolling Stones, _Beggars Banquet_ , “Street Fighting Man”


	2. Dietrich

Dietrich hears the bang and flies down the hall to Hermann’s room.

His younger brother hunches over, his face as close to his raised knees as he can bend, his fingers tensed like claws gripping the short hair at the nape of his neck, his wings drooping.

“What is it, _kleines_?” he asks gently as he perches on the edge of the mattress.

“He keeps calling!” Hermann shouts and gestures violently to the dent in the drywall left by the impact of his phone. His pale hand shakes as it returns to his hair. “I can’t live like this. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t,” he gasps. “Uni was supposed to free me from this house. And Father. I thought I escaped. Why did you stop me?” he asks as he looks up at his brother.

“Because we love you, Manny.”

“If you loved me, you’d have let me die!”

“Manny. You can endure this. You’re tougher than this.”

“What if I’m tired of _enduring_? What if I actually want to _live_?”

“It’s only a little longer. You can do it. I’ll be nearby to help you.”

“It was ‘only a little longer’ before I went to Manchester! _Five months_. I was only gone five months! Now I’m trapped here another _three years_! Because I let myself think I was normal for _once_  in my godawful life!” Hermann sounds more broken and pained than Dietrich has ever heard before, not even all the times he had broken bones, not even the horrible day his knee shattered. “It’s never going to get better! The animals in the zoo are treated better than this! I’m lower than an animal. I’m a monster,” he chokes out.

Dietrich wraps his strong arms around his brother’s trembling form and pulls him close. “You’re my brother,” he says quietly. “That’s what you are. My little brother.”

Hermann peers at him through tear-filled eyes before burying his face in his brother’s chest and sobbing until he falls into an exhausted sleep. Dietrich remains at his side, gently stroking his wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow managed to post this initially without the first sentence. Oops.
> 
>  _Kleines_ is an endearment meaning something like 'little one'. Only Dietrich is allowed to call Hermann this.
> 
> Music to set the mood: Kristin Hersh, _Hips and Makers_ , “Houdini Blues”


	3. Karla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> puff22_2001’s “[The Parrot and the Owl](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1219732)” is essentially Karla’s chapter of this fic, so go read that. Then come back and read this chapter, presented so that I don’t look like I’m shirking my duty to present all three of Hermann’s siblings.

“Hey! Gottliebchen!” a familiar voice cuts through the air as Karla walks back to her father’s home with an armload of groceries from the corner store. Karla rolls her eyes. She has no patience to spend on this asshole. Not today. Not after the latest fight with her father. Not with Hermann in the shape he is. She ignores him and keeps walking.

The asshole materializes next to her shouting her name and grabs hold of her arm, spinning her to face him. She glares at him and twists her arm away. Anyone with a lick of sense would back down now as Karla’s expression darkens to one that could be called ‘imminent mass extinction’ if one felt generous. This idiot, though, apparently possesses a deathwish.

“I hear your crippled featherweight of a brother got himself kicked out of England,” he says through an ugly smirk. “Couldn’t handle life without Daddy to hide behind and had to come crawling back with his tail between his legs? There’s even talk along the street he tried to put himself out of his misery. Probably for the best if he managed it” He laughs.

If he hadn’t laughed, Karla might have ignored him, pushed past, and gone home. Instead, she calmly sets her bag down and aims a black-eyed stare at him. He raises an eyebrow as he waits for Karla’s next move. That move turns out to be a vicious jab to his belly which drops him to his knees. With a snort and before he can even begin to catch his breath, she whirls, picks up her groceries, and stalks to the front door of the house.

As she unlocks the bolt, she plans a polite chat with her father’s housekeeper about the problematic nature of gossip, but first she must put the ice cream in the freezer.


End file.
